Questions About Etta and Otto and Russell and James

by Emma Hooper (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (10)

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Deb I just finished and was wondering the same thing...Found this in an interview with the author,
"The sense of an ending

As the novel goes on, the past an…moreI just finished and was wondering the same thing...Found this in an interview with the author,
"The sense of an ending

As the novel goes on, the past and the present—and what is real and what is imagined—all start to blur.

“I wanted it to be non-linear and a little bit confusing at times. But you don’t want to turn people off and you don’t want to be self-indulgent, so striking the right balance took a little bit of back and forth.”

I found the ending of the novel to be ambiguous, which Hooper is delighted to hear. “I had a meeting with Juliet [Annan, her editor] and the publicists last week— and they were like: ‘So, we all disagree on what happens at the end . . .’”

This is exactly the result Hooper was aiming for. “Within my academic life, I’m very into the ‘death of the author’, what that did to art and what it continues to do. I really like the idea that people can come up with really strong opinions as to what happened and it really doesn’t matter what I think. So it’s definitely, deliberately ‘choose your own adventure’ there at the end,” she says.

So did Penguin ask for a clearer resolution? “Not as my publishers, I think just as human beings. People want to know if they are right or not. And most people don’t have the chance to ask the author.”

Her parting wish, before she catches the train back to Bath, is for readers of Etta and Otto and Russell and James to “trust the conclusion that they draw”.
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(A little bit into chapter 6) "Maybe I should go away, said Etta, again. Her hair was white and undone. The piece of it that fell towards her mouth reminded Otto of baby geese. A return to down." This quetion may sound a little dull. I've read and reread this book for a few times, but I still couldn't understand what "A return to down" implies? Could anyone here help me?

Roxanne down, like softest baby hair...
…moredown, like softest baby hair...
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Mary Bellamy I'm glad you said that. I knew that I had read a book about an older man that had some strange similarities, but I couldn't remember the name of the b…moreI'm glad you said that. I knew that I had read a book about an older man that had some strange similarities, but I couldn't remember the name of the book. Yes, I agree.(less)

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Nicki Owen made fun of Russell during one of the days that Russell was in school instead of Otto. So, the next day, Otto punched Owen to defend Russell. I t…moreOwen made fun of Russell during one of the days that Russell was in school instead of Otto. So, the next day, Otto punched Owen to defend Russell. I think that Owen was in love with Otto, which Otto recognized on some level, and "funny" was a euphemism for explaining homosexuality in the 1940s. (less)

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